Trouble at Chase County
by tewksgirl
Summary: Tom and Doug are sent in to Chase County Federal Prison where 4 inmates have died from a new form of heroin that has been making it's way into the prison. No, I don't own Jump Street, Hanson, Penhall, Ioki, Hoffs, Booker or even Fuller.
1. Chapter 1

Hi again… my first story was so well received by everyone that I thought I'd try another one. Hope you all enjoy this one. Tom and Doug are sent undercover in a prison to try and find out who's selling the heroin that's causing the deaths of the inmates…

Chapter 1: The Case

Tom Hanson opened his eyes and sat up in his seat, stretching as he tried to ease the stiffness in his body. _Blue is definitely NOT my color, _he thought with a laugh as he looked down at his standard issue prison uniform. He looked over at his partner Doug who had fallen asleep with his head against the window. _God, this guy can sleep anywhere! _Hanson let out another chuckle as he looked at his friend dressed in the same ugly blue uniform that he was wearing. Doug didn't seem to mind the bumpy ride that they were forced to endure to the prison. They had been on the bus for an hour already and no matter how hard Tom had tried, he couldn't fall asleep with all the bumps in the road. So instead of sleeping, which his partner obviously had no problem doing, Hanson thought back to earlier in the week when they were in Captain Fuller's office learning the details to their latest case.

_"I'm sending you guys into Chase County Federal Prison." Fuller stated as his two young officers sat before him. "They've been having problems with several drug-related deaths in there for the past couple of months." Fuller paused and looked up at his team. "Four to be exact."_

_Tom looked over the file that was sitting in his lap. "Someone's manufacturing bad drugs?"_

_Fuller nodded in confirmation. "Seems that way. The coroner has linked all of these deaths to a very potent, lethal form of heroin." Fuller stood up and came around to the front of his desk where he leaned against it and looked both of the undercover officers straight in the eyes. "Someone is selling these guys a heroin that is 98 pure… this is something that we haven't seen out in the market yet. I want you guys to find the source before anyone else winds up dead."_

_Doug looked over at his partner and smirked. Oh shit, thought Tom. He new exactly what was coming before Doug even opened his mouth. Here we go again, he thought. However, Tom couldn't help but return the smile. "Heh!" they yelled in unison._

"_Looks like the McQuaid brothers are back." Doug said with a smile._

_Fuller couldn't help but to let out a small chuckle and said, "God help us with you two on the loose!" His face became serious however as he returned to his seat and added, "The ring leader inside seems to be a … Josh Matthews. I want you guys to watch your backs around him though. He's dangerous and wouldn't think twice about getting rid of you, especially if he makes you as cops."_

_Tom looked up at his captain. "What's he in for?" Tom asked, but really didn't want to know the answer._

_Fuller answered, "He beat a guy to death for sleeping with his girlfriend."_

_Tom rubbed his face and sighed, "That's just great."_

_Doug slapped Tom on the back, making him jump. "Don't worry Tommy… I'm your big brother, Doug McQuaid. I'll protect ya!"_

_Tom rolled his eyes and punched Doug in the arm, "Geez, thanks a lot. I feel so much better now!"_

_Fuller cleared his throat and stood up. "Seriously guys… this is a dangerous case and I want you to use your heads while you're in there. Word is out that some of the prison guards could be involved as well.. Be careful and watch yourselves. If by any chance your cover is blown, get out. Understood?"_

_Tom and Doug stood up to leave. "Okey dokey Coach." Tom said as he shut the door behind them._

Tom nudged Doug just as they pulled into the drive of the prison. It was a large, dark looking brick building that was surrounded by a 10ft. chain link fence. Tom noticed the coils of barbed wire that topped the fence and the two guard towers that stood at opposite ends of the prison yard. He counted four armed guards patrolling in either tower. He looked at Doug, who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, as the bus came to a stop just inside the gate. "Ready to join our fellow inmates?" Doug whispered to Tom as they watched an armed guard board their bus.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Tom answered.

The guard was quite tall. Maybe just over 6 feet tall and had muscles in places that Tom didn't even know you could have muscles. Tom thought he looked quite rough and even scary as he held his gun in front of his chest. "Welcome to Chase County Federal Prison boys." He said as he stood aside for the men to exit the bus. "You're in for the ride of your lives." He added as Tom and Doug made their way past him.

Once outside the bus, the prisoners were shackled around their ankles and handcuffs were slapped onto their wrists. Eight prisoners in all followed the armed guard up into the entrance of the prison, none of them saying a word. Once inside they were lined up against a wall inside a small room. The shackles were removed, as were the handcuffs. "Time for your strip searches boys." The guard from the bus was joined by three other rough looking guards. They all eyed the eight young prisoners carefully, as if they were enjoying what was about to happen.

Tom quickly looked over at Doug and whispered, "This is not my idea of fun!" Doug only had time to think about a reply as one of the armed guards walked over and stood in front of Hanson. He towered over Hanson, being almost a good foot taller than the young officer.

"Do you have something you'd like to say boy?" the guard snarled.

Tom looked up at him, ready to play the part of a McQuaid brother. "I said that I bet you guys just love having to strip search us all." Tom smirked at the guard and smacked his gum obnoxiously. "You probably get your jollies off it, don't cha?"

The guard was not pleased with the smart-assed boy in front of him. He smiled back at him and positioned his baton roughly under the boy's chin, forcing it up. "I'm going to enjoy wiping that smug look off your face, _boy."_

Doug stepped forward to protect his partner, only to have Tom put a hand on his arm. He gave him a look to say that he could handle this on his own. Then he swatted the baton away and stared the guard down. "Don't call me boy." Tom said, playing the part.

The guard was beginning to enjoy this. "What's your name, _boy?"_

Tom looked at him and said, "Tom… Tom McQuaid." He smacked his gum once more. "What's it to you?"

Doug watched as the two exchanged stares. _Man, Tommy… I've never seen you portray the part of a McQuaid so well. Bravo partner, bravo._ His admiration was replaced with a look of anger though as the guard stepped forward and without warning rammed his baton into the stomach of his partner. He went to help his friend only to have one of the guards grab his arm and pull him away.

Tom felt the baton ram into his stomach and he doubled over, the breath knocked out of him. Another blow to his back sent him to his knees. He heard the guard snicker and say, "Well, Tommy McQuaid… let me be the first to say welcome and that I hope you enjoy your stay here." He then leaned down and grabbed Tom's hair and yanked it so that the young officer was looking up at him. "We don't put up with smart asses here, so if I were you, I'd learn some manners."

Tom was finally able to catch his breath long enough to let out a "Fuck off" to the guard. Apparently the guard did not appreciate his "manners" however as this was met by his face being smashed into the floor with such a force that he blacked out.

Doug struggled in the grasp of the guard that was holding him. "You son of a bitch." His threats however were met with the guard laughing at him. The guard responsible for taking down Hanson marched over to Doug and said, "Maybe you would like to join your brother?" Doug struggled, but remained quite. It wouldn't do them any good to be in the same condition as Hanson. He worried as he looked over at his partner. Tom lay perfectly still and wasn't making any attempt to get up. _Come on Hanson, get up._ He willed his partner to get up, move, do anything. "Why don't you take on someone your own size?" Doug shouted into the face of the guard. He looked at his nametag and read H. Fitzgerald. _I'll remember your name buddy. If it's the last thing I do, you'll get what's coming to you for what you did to Hanson._

Fitzgerald patted Doug on the cheek. "In due time son." With that he walked over to Hanson. Hanson was beginning to stir as he was coming to. Fitzgerald bent down and grabbed Hanson's hair once more. "I'll be watching you McQuaid."

Hanson was barely able to make it to his knees when he was yanked up by his hair. _Shit, he thought… as if my head didn't hurt badly enough._ Then, as quickly as he was grabbed, he was set loose and stumbled back onto the floor, fighting the dizziness that threatened to take over him. He decided to keep his mouth shut though for the time being. He was in no shape to go a second round with the guard.

"Get up McQuaid. Time for your strip search." Fitzgerald laughed, as Doug was able to help Tom to his feet. He kept the grip on Tom's arm as he swayed a minute, then was able to stand on his own. "I'm fine Doug. It's okay." He tried to reassure his friend. Doug looked at him with concern and then sighed. "Okay" he said and stood in line behind Tom.

The prisoners were all searched one by one and then were shown to their assigned cells. As Tom and Doug followed Fitzgerald down the long hallway, Doug began to feel a slight panic rising through him. He had almost forgotten about the small problem he had… he was claustrophobic and didn't want to be shut in that small cell that he was now facing.

"Home sweet home boys." Fitzgerald said with a laugh. He pushed Doug in and then shoved Tom a little too hard, as he fell onto the cell floor with a dull _smack._ Tom picked himself up and watched as the cell doors were banged shut. He looked up at his partner who was desperately looking around the cell. It dawned on Tom at that moment what the problem was. "Hey, Doug… look at me man. You're going to be fine. I just need you to concentrate on our job here, ok?"

Doug took a deep breath, trying to stop the feeling that he was going to hyperventilate soon. "O..Okay Tom. I can do this." He took another deep breath and looked at his partner. He thought if he could focus on something else other than the walls closing in, he could make it through this. "How's your head?" He reached up to examine the bloody bruise that was forming on Hanson's forehead. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Tom winced as Doug's fingers brushed his forehead. The truth was that he had one hell of a headache. "Yeah… it hurts like hell." He smiled and added, "Guess I shouldn't be such a smart ass, huh?" He shook his head but stopped as it only sent a throbbing pain through his skull. "Ugh… that was stupid."

Doug pulled Tom over to the cot in the cell. "Lay down and rest for a while… hopefully you don't have a concussion or anything." Tom did as he was told and took the top bunk. He let his body flop onto the not so soft mattress and thought about the events of the past few minutes. He heard Doug lay down on the bottom bunk and hoped that he was handling his claustrophobia. He didn't think he could handle the guards and Doug freaking out on him at the same time. "You alright Doug?" He heard Doug roll over in his bunk.

"Yeah… How's your head?"

Tom rubbed a hand gently across his face. "Still there. It's going to take more than that to shut me up." He said with a laugh. Just then something dawned on him. "I wonder if Fitzgerald is in on the drug scene here?"

Doug thought about this a moment. "He could be… but I'm hoping not. I don't want to think about what would happen if we cross him again."

Tom sighed and agreed with Doug. He hoped that he didn't have to deal with Fitzgerald again either, but somehow he seriously doubted that today would be the last run-in with him. As his eyes began to get heavy, he found himself praying that he wouldn't be on the wrong end of Fitzgerald's temper again. Tom rolled over, careful not to jar his aching head, and tried to put those thoughts out of his head as he waited for sleep to overcome him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The connection

Chapter 2: The connection

Tom awoke with a start. He heard someone moving around in the dark and momentarily he forgot where he was. Then, as he turned over onto his side and the throbbing in his head returned with a vengeance, he quickly remembered where he was. Tom sat up slowly, waiting for the annoying pain in his head to subside. "Doug… that you?" he squinted as he tried to focus in the dark. Tom listened intently as he thought he heard the sound coming towards him. As Doug's face came into view, Hanson realized that Doug was starting to hyperventilate. He jumped down from his bunk and put a hand on Doug's arm, turning him to face him. "Doug… take slow breaths. Come on, breathe with me, ok?" Tom forced his best friend to look him in the eyes and he could tell that Doug was trying to control his breathing. "That's it, nice and slow."

Doug began to feel himself calm down and his breathing return to normal. He let out a shaky breath before sending Tom a small smile. "Thanks Tom. It was just so quiet and dark in here and the walls started closing in on me, you know?" Tom nodded and sat down on Doug's bed. "Want to sit and talk for a while?" he asked his partner. Doug sat down on the bed, making sure to face towards the cell doors. If he could at least see out, it wasn't so bad.

"How's your head?" Doug looked at his partner and could tell that he was still in pain. "I didn't know that you had it in you to be such a …"

"McQuaid?" Tom finished. He let out a small laugh and brushed away the bangs that were hanging in his eyes. "Yeah, well, sometimes I really enjoy being a McQuaid… just don't let anyone else know that okay?"

Doug laughed and said, "Don't worry… you're secret's safe with me."

Hanson and Penhall spent the next couple of hours keeping each other company until finally they could hear the guards coming into the cellblock. "Rise and shine McQuaids. Time to start your new life as inmates here at this fine establishment." Doug and Tom were not surprised to find Fitzgerald standing outside their cell. As the cell door opened, they found themselves being approached by the guard. "So, Tommy… do you think you can remember your manners today or do we have to teach you another lesson?"

Tom stood up and stared straight into the eyes of Fitzgerald. "I'll let you know after breakfast." He waited for Doug before stepping outside their cell to line up with the other prisoners. "And by the way… don't call me Tommy."

Fitzgerald marched up next to Tom and pointed his baton at him. "Like I said, you'd better watch yourself, boy. A pretty thing like you won't last long in a place like this… especially with a mouth like that."

Doug watched as the kitchen server slopped what was supposed to be scrambled eggs onto his tray. He sniffed them and made a disgusted face before saying, "What the hell is this supposed to be?" Tom made a face as Doug held the tray out to him for inspection.

"Beats me… I'm sticking with the cereal. You can't mess up corn pops!" Tom took his tray and made his way over to an empty table in the far corner. Doug grabbed a couple cartons of milk and made his way over to his partner. As Doug began eating the questionable substance on his plate, Tom began scanning the prisoners in the cafeteria. _I wonder which one of these guys is Josh Matthews?_ He pulled the white bandana out of his pocket and tied it around his head, pushing the bangs out of his eyes. He looked up as a group of rugged looking guys made their way over to their table. Hanson quickly kicked Doug under the table.

"What was that for?" Doug asked, a mouthful of eggs in his mouth. Tom looked at him and then at the gang headed their way. Doug swallowed his food and wiped his mouth. "Uh oh. Welcoming committee maybe?"

The group consisted of six tough looking men who surrounded the officer's table. A tall, heavyset blonde sat down next to Tom, eyeing him up and down. "So, I hear you're in for murder." He asked.

"Yeah, so what's it to you?" Tom said, watching the heavyset man carefully in case he was to strike.

A smile slowly spread across the blonde's face. "Just wanted to welcome you to Chase County." He stretched out a hand and Tom just looked at it, as if it were too much trouble to acknowledge him. "I'm Josh Matthews. You must be Tom and Doug McQuaid."

Doug leaned forward and said, "Hey Tommy… we're already making friends. Our mom will be so proud."

Tom let out a laugh and turned to Josh. "Is there something you wanted, cause we're kind of busy here." Two of the guys from the gang went to grab Tom by the arm when Doug stood up, ready to strike. Josh quickly shook his head, telling them to back off. Obediently they let go of Tom and took a step back.

"Let's just say that I heard you guys were good with moving some product. I could use a couple of guys like you for my business." Josh said as he leaned in so that no one else could hear the private conversation.

Doug looked at his partner before speaking up. "What's in it for us?"

"Yeah, why would we want to help you?" Tom added.

"Well, what would you say to a 20 cut?" Tom pretended to think about this for a moment before answering. "What kind of product are we talking about here?"

Josh quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching when he pulled out a small vial and handed it to Hanson. "Heroin… and it's not your everyday average stuff either. We're talking 97 pure."

Doug let out a slow whistle as Hanson put the vial into his pocket. "Make it 25 and you've got a deal." Doug couldn't believe his ears. _What the hell are you thinking Hanson… don't blow this already._ To his surprise however, Josh held out his hand and shook it with Hanson. "Ok, you have a deal." Josh stood up to leave and then turned back to the officers. "We'll be in touch soon. I've got some product to move in a couple of days." With that, he and his gang left the table and made their way back to their seats.

"Holy shit Hanson… what were you thinking, asking for 25 percent? What if he walked away?" Doug asked as he tried to figure out what his partner was thinking about.

Tom just shrugged. "He didn't did he? Trust me, he wouldn't have walked away. He knows the reputation that we have… he needs us." Tom finished the last of his cereal and looked up at his friend. "Come on… let's go see if we can find out anything else about these guys."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews… hopefully the rest of the story won't disappoint anyone

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews… hopefully the rest of the story won't disappoint anyone!**

**Chapter 3: The Deal**

Tom and Doug made their way out into the prison yard. Doug scanned the yard, making note of the many inmates that were currently eyeing them. He could feel the tension in the air and couldn't help the feeling washing over him that they were in for a bit of trouble before the day was through.

Tom was also watching the crowds of inmates that seemed to be staring them down as they made their way over to the basketball court. "Do you get the feeling that we're not that popular right now?" he asked Doug as he bent over to pick up a basketball and shot it effortlessly through the air and into the hoop.

Doug retrieved the ball and made a shot of his own. "Yeah… either they don't like new guys or they've made us." Doug sent the ball through the hoop once more before adding, "I think we'd better watch our backs."

Tom took one more look around before making his shot. "Sounds like a plan to me." He noticed Josh and his crew making their way over to the court. "Looks like we've got company Doug."

Doug turned and saw the group of men walking over to them. "Hey McQuaids, ready to talk business?" Josh asked as he motioned the officers over to him. He led them over to the stairs by the side entrance. His men positioned themselves around to keep out any intruders.

"So, what's the deal?" Doug asked as he was joined by Tom. "When do we do this?"

Josh let out a quick laugh and said, "Right down to business I see." He took a long drag on his cigarette and added, "I like that. I think we're going to have a great work relationship here boys."

Tom waited impatiently as Josh finished his cigarette. _Come on, let's get on with this, _he thought. Patience was never one of Tom's strong points.

As if he could read Tom's thoughts, Josh stomped out his cigarette and sat down on the stairs. "I've got a shipment that needs to go out tomorrow. I'll work it out so that you guys are on the bus for roadwork tomorrow. You'll take the product with you and once you guys are out doing road crew, there will be a guard that you'll hand the stuff over to. His name is Fitzgerald."

Tom groaned as he heard the name. "You've got to be kidding me. Fitzgerald?"

Josh eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

Tom shook his head. "No, we've already been introduced." _God, why does it have to be Fitzgerald? Hopefully he doesn't try to bash my brains in again._ "I wouldn't exactly say that I'm on his good side."

Doug spoke up. "Yeah, Fitzgerald couldn't handle my brother's smart-assed mouth." He said with a nervous chuckle. "What happens once we hand over the stuff to him?"

Josh stood up and walked over to the two officers. "Fitzgerald will deal with it then. He'll pay you and you bring it back to me."

Tom decided he needed more information and asked, "Where do you get the heroin from?"

Josh was beginning to get suspicious of this young man in front of him. "Why so many questions? What are you, a cop?"

Doug sent a nervous glance towards Tom. Tom however kept his cool and answered, "Do I look like a cop?"

Doug stood on guard as he watched Josh's expression changed from suspicion to a look of disbelief. He let out a sigh of relief when Josh let out a laugh. Doug quickly ran a hand through his hair and glanced over at his partner, who just shrugged.

"No man, you don't look like any cop I've ever seen…" Josh patted Tom on the cheek. "Let's just say that there's a big demand for our product. You know what they say, nothing like homemade." With that, Josh turned to leave followed by his posse. "I'll get you the stuff tomorrow morning before the bus leaves. Make sure you don't screw this up."

Doug walked over to Tom after the group left them. "Man, I thought we were dead there. Do you get a kick out of trying to give me a heart attack?"

Tom looked up at his partner and smiled. "What?" he asked innocently. "I had to find out where they were getting the heroin from."

Doug shook his head and said, "Are you sure that your last name isn't really McQuaid? Because I think you and him both have a death wish!"

Tom laughed and grabbed Doug's arm. "Come on, let's go see if we can make a phone call to Fuller to let him know what's going on."

Later that evening, Hanson and Penhall sat in their cell playing cards. They were able to make the phone call to Fuller about what was going to happen tomorrow.

Tom laid down his cards and yelled, "Rummy!" A smile spread across his face as Doug threw his cards down. Doug reached over and punched Hanson in the arm.

"Not fair, you cheated!" Doug yelled as Tom returned the punch.

"No I didn't. You're just a sore loser bro!" Tom tried to duck as Doug lunged for him. Before he could get away, Doug had him in a headlock. "Hey, let me go!" he yelled as he tried to squirm his way out of Doug's grip.

Doug just laughed and said, "Nope, not until you admit that you cheated."

"Never… I did not cheat." Tom struggled some more but it was no use.

"Sorry to interrupt you boys, but I brought you guys something." Doug still had Tom in a headlock as they looked up to find Josh standing in the entrance to their cell. He placed a small duffle bag on the desk in the cell. "Take good care of it, you hear?"

Doug finally let Tom out of the headlock and answered, "No problem." With that, Josh walked away.

Tom and Doug looked at the bag on the desk. Tom walked over and picked it up. He slowly unzipped the bag and found 2 packages inside. He showed them to Doug and said, "Looks like we're in business."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Trouble Okay everyone, I have to apologize about my previous chapter 4. After getting the reviews, I realized that I did jump the gun and it had to be re-written. So hopefully I still have some readers out there, and I promise to take my time from now on. So, with that said, please read and review. (And don't worry, there will still be Tommy angst and torture : ) Chapter 4: Trouble

Tom was up before Doug. He carefully slipped the packages of heroin under his blue prison uniform, trying to get them where they weren't visible. The last thing he needed was to get caught by one of the other prison guards carrying a kilo of heroin. Once he was sure the drugs were hidden, he turned and went over to Doug's bed and tapped him on the arm.

"Wake up sleepy head." Tom tapped him once more and his partner rolled over and opened his eyes. "Ready to go to work?" Tom asked with a smile.

Doug rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at his partner with disbelief. "You really get off on this don't you?" he said with a chuckle.

Tom laughed and said, "What can I say? There's nothing like a good bust." He quickly slipped his badge into his pocket and tied the bandana around his head.

Doug got up and followed his partner over to the cell doors. He took a look around and said, "I'll just be glad to get the hell out of this cell."

"Well, looks like you're going to get a chance to do just that McQuaid." Fitzgerald said, as he made his way to the officer's cell. "I hear you boys are lucky enough to join us on road crew today."

Tom smirked at the prison guard and decided to have a little more fun with him. "Yeah, looks like you get to spend the day looking at my beautiful face."

Fitzgerald however wasn't amused. He pushed Hanson up against the wall roughly and said, "You know McQuaid, there's not going to be anyone out there to stop me from shutting you up, so if I were you, I'd watch that mouth of yours."

Tom struggled in the guards grip, but didn't back down. "I'd really like to see you try Fitzgerald."

The guard took one more hard look at Hanson and then abruptly let go of him. "You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later." With that, he walked out of the cell and stood waiting for the officers to follow. Once Doug and Tom stood in front of him, he gave Tom a quick shove, knocking him into Doug. "Let's go boys."

Doug grabbed onto Tom's arm before he could do anything stupid. "Come on… let it go for now." He whispered. Tom straightened himself up and nodded. He then followed his partner and Fitzgerald outside to the waiting bus. They were met by six other inmates and four armed guards.

"All aboard." Fitzgerald said as he stared Tom down. Tom pushed the anger down that was beginning to build inside him and followed Doug onto the bus. They made their way to the back of the bus and took a seat.

Tom leaned into Doug and whispered, "I am so looking forward to slapping the cuffs on him." Doug just looked at his partner and nodded.

Thirty minutes later the bus pulled over into a parking lot of a state park. Tom noticed that the park was a heavily wooded area, and that they hadn't passed any sign of civilization for the past twenty minutes. Tom stood up and followed Doug off of the bus, where the inmates were lined up, having their handcuffs removed. Fitzgerald was especially rough when it came to the McQuaid brother's turns. "Welcome to road crew boys."

Each of the inmates were handed garbage bags and tools to begin their work. They spread out as far as they could under the watchful eyes of the five-armed guards. Tom and Doug took their supplies and headed over to a shaded area by the bathrooms.

The officers had been working for nearly and hour when Fitzgerald walked up to them and motioned them over to the side of the bathrooms, out of sight from the rest of the crew. "McQuaids, I have some garbage for you to pick up over here."

Doug looked at Tom and whispered, "We're on." They followed the guard over to the side of the building and waited for him to make a move.

Fitzgerald shouldered his rifle and looked from one officer to the other. "I hear you boys have a package for me?"

Tom patted his uniform where the heroin was hidden. He nodded and added, "Do you have the money?"

Fitzgerald pulled out a wad of bills and showed it to the officers. Tom pulled out the packages of heroin and showed it to the guard. "How about a trade?" he asked.

Doug watched as the two traded the goods. _Please just let this go as planned,_ he thought to himself and let out a sigh of relief when the guard tucked the package into his coat pocket. "I guess we'll get back to work now, come on Tommy." With that he started to pull Tom away. He was stopped however by a rough hand on his shoulder.

Fitzgerald turned Doug around and looked him hard in the eye. "You two had better not screw this up for me. I've got a good thing going here and I want to keep it that way."

Doug shrugged out of the guard's harsh grip and replied, "Don't worry Fitz, we know how to keep a good thing going." With that he tugged on Hanson's arm and they made their way back to work..

When the officers were far enough away that Fitzgerald could no longer hear them, Tom looked over at Doug and said, "Ok, deal number 1 down. Let's just see where else this will take us."

Doug picked up his work gloves and garbage bag. "I agree. Somehow I think that this was just a test. I think that there is a lot more going on here." He bent over and started picking up the garbage stuck in between the bushes. "God, this sucks."

Tom laughed as his partner began picking up the garbage. _This is going to be a long day, _he thought to himself. But, at least he was out here doing this shitty work with his best friend and partner. "You can say that again." He said as Doug sent him a look that told him to shut up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As the bus pulled out of the park, Tom shut his eyes and leaned his head against the window. He was totally exhausted from the day's work. He was just about to give in to a peaceful sleep when his partner elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey Tommy…" Doug said as he elbowed Tom once again.

Tom kept his eyes closed but mumbled, "What?" All he wanted to do right now was sleep.

"We've gotta try to call Fuller when we get back." Doug elbowed his partner once more, finally getting the younger man to open his eyes. "We need to let him know that we made the first switch."

Tom rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, we're going to need some backup in here soon." With that, Tom gave in to the temptation of sleep and left Doug to worry about the case.

Later that evening, Tom and Doug McQuaid made their way over to Josh Matthews table in the cafeteria. Tom smacked his gum loudly and patted Josh on the shoulder as he sat down beside him. "We've got something for you." Tom said as he pushed a wad of money into Josh's pocket, making sure no one was watching. "Minus our cut, of course." He added with a smirk.

Josh nodded back to Tom and said, "Good work. Now that I see that I can trust you boys, I may have another job for you." He watched as Doug sat down in the seat before him.

"I think that we may have someone you'd like to meet." Doug said, reaching over and taking a cookie off of Josh's plate. "Someone that could really add revenue to your work." He smiled as he shoved the cookie into his mouth, McQuaid style.

Josh thought about this for a moment. "And what about Fitzgerald?" he was becoming quite curious about the two brothers sitting before him. He had heard of their reputation for dealing drugs… perhaps they did know of a better connection.

Tom laughed as he heard Fitzgerald's name. "That dumbass? Our connection only deals in the best… straight from China. He makes Fitz look like a amateur. We're talking large import/ export services."

Josh thought all of this sounded very good. Maybe too good. "Ok, tell you what. Get me a meeting with this connection of yours, and if all works out, then we get rid of Fitzgerald." He took a swig of his milk and stood up. "Let me know when we can meet." With that he and his group walked away.

"Ok, now we just have to wait for Booker to come in." Doug said. "Fuller said he'd be here tomorrow."

Tom nodded. "What's his cover?"

"He's coming in as a guard. Supposed to be a real bad-ass. He's coming in as Dennis Grant." Doug replied.

Tom stood up and pulled Doug up with him. "Ok, we've got until tomorrow then. Let's go get set up." Doug followed his partner back to their cell. _Let's hope this works,_ he thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: **

Tom was sound asleep when a loud noise startled him. He was so startled that he quickly turned over and fell with a loud thud on the ground. "What the hell?" He asked as he heard a loud, obnoxious laugh as he hit the floor. He pushed himself up, rubbing his sore hip. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He asked as he looked at the guard standing in front of his cell, a smile plastered on his face.

"What's wrong Tommy, aren't you happy to see me?"

Tom stood up and walked over to the cell door. "Always happy to see you Dennis _Grant_." Tom looked at his partner, Dennis Booker, through the bars. "Always a freaking' pleasure!"

Doug was awake by now and walked over to the cell door. "We weren't expecting you here till later."

Dennis shrugged and smiled. "Thought I'd join the party early. Did you boys miss me?"

"About as much as I miss Jude's coffee." Tom said with a smirk. "By the way, we've got someone to introduce you to later."

"Can't wait. See you boys after breakfast." With that, Dennis sauntered away from the cell. "You two behave yourselves now, you hear?"

Tom rubbed his hip once more. "I really do hate that guy."

Doug patted Tom on the shoulder. "Come on Tommy, remember he's here to help."

"Yeah, I hope so." He said as he went back and climbed into his bunk. "If not, I'll have to kick his ass."

Later that morning, Doug and Tom were finishing their breakfast when Josh and his pals came over. They took their seats around the McQuaid's.

"So, where's the new guy? Is he here yet?" Josh leaned in and asked.

Doug nodded his head over to the far corner of the cafeteria where a tall dark haired prison guard was laughing with a few others. He happened to see the older McQuaid looking in his direction and sent him a nod.

"That's him." Doug said. "The name is Dennis Grant. He's been our connection for quite a while now. We'll meet up with him during our time outside."

Josh seemed to be checking the guard out. "So, you've known him for a while?" He was still a bit suspicious, but thought that the new guard looked trustworthy.

Tom swallowed his bite of eggs and said, "Yeah.. We've know Grant for about 4 years now." He finished his juice and added, "Don't worry, you can trust him."

Josh just nodded. "Okay, we'll see you outside then."

Dennis made his way over to the group of men that were standing and talking at the far corner of the prison yard. Tom held out his hand when he reached them.

"Hey Tom… How's it going?" Dennis asked as he shook his hand. "It's been a while." He shook Doug's hand as well. "Hey Doug, looking good."

"Dennis, this is Josh Matthews, the one we were telling you about." Tom said, pointing to Josh. "He's looking for a new partner."

Dennis eyed the prisoner, looking him and his friends over. "So, what are we talking about here?"

"Heroin. We like to move a few Kilos at a time." Josh said, watching the reaction from the prison guard. "Think you can handle it?"

Dennis tried to hold back his laughter but failed. "Can I handle it?" He stepped forward and pushed a finger into Josh's chest. "The question is boy, do you think you can handle it?"

Josh was silent for a moment. Then, slowly a smile crept across his face. "I like you… I think we could do some business here. What do you say?"

Dennis moved his hand away from the prisoner's chest. Then he slowly put out a hand and said, "I'd say welcome, partner."

Fitzgerald was standing off to the side of the prison entrance, watching the meeting that was taking place in the far end of his yard. He cringed as he watched the new guard shaking hands with Josh Matthews. He felt his hands ball into fists as he watched the new guard then pat Tom McQuaid on the cheek. _I will make that little shit pay for taking away my business, _he said to himself as the anger boiled up inside him, threatening to leak out. _I will get him if it's the last thing I do. Tommy McQuaid and that brother of his will be sorry they ever stepped foot into Chase County._ With the anger raging inside of him, Fitzgerald threw open the door and made his way inside to plan his revenge for the unsuspecting McQuaid brothers. _Payback is a bitch, I promise you that Tommy._


	7. Chapter 7

Later that week the McQuaid brothers were huddled around in their cell along with Josh and Dennis

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I really appreciate all the feedback for this story. I think I finally have all the kinks worked out and hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here on out. (well, maybe not for Tom…. Oops, did I say that out loud? LOL.) Anyway, read and review… enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Later that week the McQuaid brothers were huddled around in their cell along with Josh and Dennis. Dennis stood near the entrance to the cell, to keep an eye out for any unexpected interruptions.

"Okay boys, I have the goods. Do you have the money?" Dennis asked as he leaned against the cell door.

Josh handed over a handful of cash. "It's a pleasure doing business with you Dennis." With that, he took the heroin and left the officers cell. "See you boys later."

Dennis took one more look around and then walked over to his partners. "Well that went fairly well, wouldn't you say?" He asked.

Tom was sitting on Doug's bed when he answered, "Yeah… although I'm not too sure Fitzgerald's going to be too happy when news about our taking over his business gets around." Tom's hand went up to brush the bangs out of his face and sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens."

A worried look crossed Dennis' face. "You guys be careful. I'll try to keep an eye on things as much as I can." He noticed Hanson as he rolled his eyes. "Especially you Tom. Doug told me about the way Fitzgerald has it in for you. You don't know what he's capable of."

Doug wrapped his arm around his partner. "Don't worry Tommy, I'll be stuck to you like glue." Doug quickly ducked as Tom threw the pillow at his head. "Hey, what was that for?"

Tom punched Doug in the arm. "Always the protective big brother aren't we?"

Dennis shook his head as he watched the two officers wrestle. "Seriously guys, watch your backs, okay?"

Doug and Tom stopped for a moment and looked at Booker. "Yeah, don't worry about us…We're the McQuaid brothers." Doug said. With that he turned and looked at Tom.

"Heh!" they shouted in unison.

"God help us!" Booker said as he turned and walked out of the cell.

Fitzgerald and Josh were standing by the entrance to the showers and seemed to be in a heated debate. The prison guard had Josh pinned up against the wall and had a hold of him by his shirt collar.

"What do you mean we ain't doing business anymore?" Fitzgerald asked, the anger building up inside of him. How dare those two punks, the McQuaids, walk into his prison and take over his business. Fitzgerald let his anger get the best of him and slammed Josh into the wall once more. "Who's your source now?"

"The McQuaids… they have someone who can get me a better deal with a better product." Josh said, struggling to get out of the guards grip.

Fitzgerald landed a fist squarely into Josh's jaw. "Deals over I'm afraid Josh. Pretty soon the McQuaids will be over too, that you can be sure of." He sent one more punch into Josh's face and then walked off to plan his next move.

Back in the officer's cell, Tom was getting his stuff ready to go take a shower. He loaded his supplies into his arms and turned to Doug, "I'm going to go get a shower before the rest of the guys get in there."

"Yeah, okay… sounds like a good idea. I'll watch your back if you watch mine." Doug said with a smile. He gathered his towel and shampoo and followed the younger officer out of their cell.

The officers made their way down to the showers and were about to go in when Doug stopped. "Shit, I forgot my soap. I'll be right back Tommy."

Tom shook his head and laughed as he entered the shower room. _Leave it to Doug to forget something, _he thought. Tom went in and found a shower stall at the far end of the room. He hung his towel outside the stall on the hook and then stepped in and removed his clothes, tossing them out onto the hook. He then turned on the hot water and stood for a moment as the water ran down his body. He turned his head slightly as he thought he heard a noise from the front of the shower room.

"Hey Doug, did you forget anything else?" Tom said with a laugh. When no reply came, he turned off the water and began to dry off. He quickly put his clothes back on and towel dried his hair. "Doug? That you?" Still no answer. "Come on man, stop playing around." Tom stepped out into the locker room and found no sign of his friend. _Geez Tom, now you're hearing things. You must be letting Booker get to you."_ He let out a nervous laugh and looked into the mirror as he tied his white bandana back into his freshly washed hair. It was then when he noticed Fitzgerald was standing behind him.

"What the hell do you want?" Tom asked, beginning to feel nervous.

Fitzgerald let a smile slowly cross his lips. "I hear you're cutting into my business in here."

Tom shrugged and said, "Yeah, so what are you going to do about it?"

Fitzgerald laughed and looked Tom square in the eyes. "I was hoping you'd say that." He smiled as a group of about 6 very large, very mean looking prisoners made their way behind him. "I'd like you to meet my business associates Tommy. I told you that you'd have to deal with me if you messed things up for me."

Tom quickly looked around, trying to find a way out of this mess. Unfortunately, he didn't see any way to escape. _Where the hell are you Doug?_

Doug had found his soap and was making his way back to the shower room when he saw Fitzgerald looking out from the bathroom door. He quickly threw his supplies down and ran towards the shower room door. _Oh shit, hang on Tommy. I'm coming._ He said to himself as he broke out into a sprint. He was seconds too late however and had the door slammed shut in his face. He could hear the lock slide into place as he began banging loudly on it. "Hey, open the damn door." He yelled. "Tom! Hey Tom, let me in!" He kept banging on the door and could hear what sounded like a group of men yelling inside the shower room. "No, this can't be happening." He said as he tried everything he could think of to open the door. "Open this fucking door!" He yelled, feeling hopeless as he desperately tried anything he could to get in to protect his partner.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Chapter 8

Tom instinctively backed himself up to the wall. He was trying to figure a way out of this mess when he heard an angry pounding on the shower room door. He could hear Doug's voice, yelling and screaming for someone to let him in. Tom took another glance at the mob that was standing before him and decided to make a run for the door. He was slammed from behind however and felt the air knocked out of him as he hit the floor. He could hear Fitzgerald laughing as the set of hands flipped him roughly over onto his back. Tom found himself staring into the angry eyes of a very mean looking blonde man.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The blonde said as he grabbed Tom by the shirt, hauling him to his feet. Once he had the younger man standing upright, he let loose with a blow to the officer's stomach, doubling him over.

Tom wasn't prepared for the force of the blow and found himself doubled over before he knew what was happening. He tried to quickly recover however and threw a punch of his own into the face of the large man towering over him. _I'm not going down without a fight, _Tom thought to himself as he hurled his fist into the man's gut. The larger man was stunned, which allowed Tom to go for the door once more.

"Doug, I need some help in here man." Tom yelled as he began fumbling with the lock.

Doug was still pounding on the door when he heard his friend's voice calling out to him. "Hang on Tom, I'm coming." He said as he yanked on the door once more. "Open the door!"

Doug listened as he heard some scuffling behind the door and could hear the chanting of the men in the room with his partner. His heart leapt into his throat as he heard the cries of his best friend. _Oh god Tommy, hang on please!_

Tom turned around to find the group of men surrounding him now. They were all poised, ready to take down the younger man.

"Take care of him!" Fitzgerald yelled as the group of men closed in on the younger McQuaid. He watched, pleased, as two of the men lunged forward and grabbed a hold of Tom.

Tom struggled as hard as he could in the grasp of the two larger men, but their grip was just too strong. He watched in horror as the blonde made his way over to him, fists clenched. At that moment, Tom did the only thing he could think of… he landed a hard kick right to the man's groin. The blonde fell to the floor, desperately trying to stop the pain that exploded in his groin. Tom struggled, trying to free himself from the grip of his two captors. It was no use however as the waiting group advanced on them and began landing blow after blow onto the officer. Tom desperately tried to fight back, occasionally landing a blow of his own.

Tom was thrown roughly to the floor and gasped when a boot made contact with his ribs. He winced in pain as he felt a rib crack. He struggled to get to his hands and knees only to be met with another strong blow to his already damaged ribcage. He hit the floor hard, gasping for air.

Fitzgerald smiled with pleasure as he watched his foot make contact with Tom's ribs. His smile widened as he watched the young man trying to get to his hands and knees. He bent down and grabbed a handful of hair, pulling the young man's head back so that he could look at the bloody face staring back at him. "I told you that I would take care of you, Tommy Boy." He could hear Tom's ragged breaths and found himself quite pleased with his suffering. "You're going to beg me to finish you before it's over." With that Fitzgerald slammed Hanson's face into the rough tiled floor.

Tom yelled out in pain as his face made contact with the bathroom floor. His head was swimming and he was fighting back the darkness that loomed over him. _Stay with it Tom. If you black out, it's going to be over for you. _He thought to himself. He found himself thinking of his partner, who was standing outside the shower room, still trying to find a way in to help Tom. _Doug, I don't know how much longer I can hold on. Please… help me._ Tom's thoughts were quickly diverted back to the current situation when another kick was sent into his ribs. He gagged and coughed as the pain began unbearable. He tried the best he could to protect his fragile ribcage as the group of men sent blow after blow into his battered body. His body exploded in pain and he desperately tried to block the blows that were bouncing off his body. He tried to call out his best friend's name, but found that he couldn't get the words past his lips. He glanced towards the door only to find his vision beginning to swim in and out of focus. He found it starting to get hard to breathe and he was sure that he was coughing up blood. He tried once more to yell out to his best friend before he lost his battle with consciousness.

Doug was still banging on the door as the yells inside the shower room were getting louder and louder. "Hang on Tommy, please!" he yelled as he pulled on the door once more. He barely heard the footsteps that were rushing towards him over the yells in the shower room.

"Doug, what's going on?" Doug looked quickly to find Booker and two other guards rushing towards him. "What's all the yelling about?"

Doug still struggled with the door. "Fitzgerald has Tom in there. He's in trouble." Again, banging on the door. "We've got to get him out of there before he kills him."

Booker looked to the other guards. He watched as one of them pulled out a key ring and fumbled for the shower room key. Booker grabbed onto Doug's arm and pulled him out of the way so the guard could unlock the door.

"Come on damn it…. Hurry up. We have to get him out of there!" Doug screamed as the guard finally found the right key and unlocked the door.

Dennis and Doug were the first into the room and stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that was before them. Fitzgerald and 6 other prisoners were huddled around the bloody, broken body of their partner. They sent kick after kick into the still form of Tom Hanson. Doug was the first to snap out of his disbelief and lunged himself into the crowd, throwing punch after punch into the unexpecting faces of the prisoners. Dennis and the other two guards joined in, trying to pull the crowd away from Tom's limp body.

Dennis grunted in pain as Fitzgerald landed a blow to his midsection. He quickly recovered however and landed a blow of his own to the guard's face, watching as he slumped to the ground.

Doug and the other guards were able to get the rest of the crowd under control after a few tense moments. Most of the prisoners were scattered about the room, rubbing sore faces and nursing hurt egos. Doug sent one last vicious punch into the prisoner's face and then turned his attention to his partner.

"Oh god, Tommy, no." He said as he dropped to his knees beside his beaten partner. He placed a hand under Tom's head and gently turned him over onto his back. Doug let out a gasp and cursed, as he was able to see the various bloody bruises that were covering the younger officer's face. He became worried as he heard his partner's labored breathing, as if he were fighting to breathe. "Tom, can you hear me?" Doug gently wiped the sweat-soaked bangs out of Tom's face. "Come on Tom, open your eyes man."

Dennis bent down and grabbed Fitzgerald by the collar. He landed a blow directly into the man's face. "You son of a bitch. I could kill you right now!" He had to restrain himself from beating the guard to death. He and Tom weren't the best of friends and most of the time they didn't even get along, but they were still partners and he couldn't help the anger that was threatening to take over him. He looked over at Doug, who had the younger officer cradled in his lap. He saw the various cuts and bruises that ran along Tom's face and arms. He could hear the labored breathing of the officer and looked over at the two guards that had come in with him. "Go get an ambulance!" he yelled to them. "NOW!"

As the guards left to get some help, Dennis turned his attention back to Fitzgerald. He roughly slammed him onto the ground and pulled out his badge. "You're under arrest asshole."

Fitzgerald looked up at Dennis with disbelief. "You're a cop?" he asked.

"That's right. We all are and you just fucked up big time asshole." Dennis said as he slapped the cuffs on the guard. "You're under arrest for drug trafficking and assault of a police officer."

"Yeah, good luck with that one. We'll see if you can make it stick." Fitzgerald said, only to be met with a punch to the face.

Dennis leaned down and stared the guard down. "Oh I'll have no problem making it stick. And if it doesn't, I'll come back and kill you myself for what you did to my partner over there." Dennis landed one more blow after Fitzgerald laughed at him. The guard's head snapped back and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

Dennis walked over to where Doug was sitting, hanging onto Tom for dear life. "He doesn't sound to good." He said. Dennis carefully lifted Tom's shirt and cursed as he and Doug saw the splotches of purple and red that were spreading across Tom's entire chest and midsection. "I think he's got some broken ribs."

Doug squeezed Tom's hand and said, "Tommy, please man… open your eyes for us, okay?" He worried as he was only met with the ragged sound of Tom's breathing. He had to look twice as he looked down to find the soft brown eyes of his partner looking back at him. "That's it Tom… stay with me okay?"

Tom fought hard to keep his eyes open. He was finding it very difficult, as was trying to take a deep breath. He looked up, noticing that Dennis and Doug were both there with him. He tried to take a breath and opened his mouth to say, "D-Doug…hurts." He couldn't get any other words out however as he was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit. He fought to catch his breath as his best friend elevated him somewhat. His vision began to swim again and he sank back into the darkness despite his friend's pleas to stay awake.

Doug stared in horror as a thin line of blood trickled out the side of Tom's mouth as he lost the battle with consciousness. "No, Hanson… stay awake man. Come on Tom! Stay awake!" But his pleas were met with nothing but silence. Doug cursed as his friend let out a gasp, as if trying to suck in his last breath. He noticed that Tom's chest wasn't moving anymore and quickly laid his friend flat on the ground. He put his ear to Tom's mouth and cried out when he couldn't feel any breath against his skin. He quickly felt for a pulse and was horrified when he couldn't find one.

"No!! Don't do this Tom. You hear me Hanson? Don't you die on me now!" Doug screamed frantically as he began CPR.

Booker watched and couldn't believe the scene before him. Doug was desperately trying to get his best friend's heart going again. He leaned over and administered mouth to mouth while praying that their friend would make it out of that shower room alive.


	9. Chapter 9

I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews…I was astonished at how many of you thought I was killing Tommy boy off…maybe

I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews…I was astonished at how many of you thought I was killing Tommy boy off…maybe I am, maybe I'm not. You'll just have to keep reading to find out! Anyways, you've all made my day with the wonderful comments!

Chapter 9

Doug was still frantically pushing on Tom's chest when the paramedics arrived. He was so intent on willing his friend back to life that he didn't hear the paramedic ask him a question for the second time.

"Sir, how long has he been down?" The paramedic asked as he took over the chest compressions.

Doug moved aside and found himself not being able to take his eyes off his partner's chest, as if staring at it would start it moving again. "Um, about 3 minutes I think." He watched as the paramedic pulled out a mobile defibrillator. He forgot that he was holding his breath as the paramedic placed the paddles on Hanson's chest.

"Clear!" The paramedic said as he watched for any signs of life on the portable monitor. "No rhythm, charging to 300."

Doug watched as the voltage sent shock waves through his friend's lifeless body. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and didn't bother to brush them aside. All he could focus on was the still form of Tom Hanson lying there on the cold tile floor. He didn't bother to try and hide the pain and frustration he was feeling as the next shock was administered to the quiet body that used to be so full of life. Doug was so caught up in his sorrow that he didn't hear the paramedic when he announced that they had a heartbeat.

"We've got a sinus rhythm… bp is 140 over 90. He's still not breathing though… let's get a tube into him stat." The paramedics began inserting a tube into Hanson's throat that would help him breathe.

Doug was startled by a hand on his shoulder. "Come on Doug… we'll follow them to the hospital." Doug was quiet as he watched the paramedics finish inserting the breathing tube into his friend. He couldn't force himself to leave his friend's side while his life was still hanging so closely to the edge.

Doug stood up and shrugged Booker's hand away. "No, I'm not leaving Tommy. I'll ride with them in the ambulance." His voice got quieter as he added, "I don't want to leave him alone."

Booker knew better than to argue with his fellow officer. He knew how strong the bond was between Hanson and Penhall. He knew that only a few people were fortunate to have the kind of friendship that they had. Those two would do anything for each other and Booker knew better than to try and pull Penhall away from his partner now. "Okay… I'll meet you at the hospital then, okay? I'm going to take Fitzgerald into the chapel and I'll meet you there."

At the mention of Fitzgerald's name, something snapped inside of Doug. He tore his gaze away from Tom and over to the corner where the guard was still sitting, handcuffed. Before anyone could stop him, Doug flew over to the guard and grabbed him by the throat and started choking him. "If Tom dies, I will kill you with my bare hands, do you hear me?" The only response he got however was Fitzgerald's choking as he gasped for air.

Dennis rushed over and pried Penhall's fingers from around the guard's throat. "Doug, let him go. You can't do this." He said as he fought to get Doug away from the guard. "Besides, Tommy needs you."

Doug's chokehold finally relaxed at the mention of his partner's name. He gave the guard one last push and walked away, angrily running his hand through his hair.

Fitzgerald was able to get back to his feet and said, "I'll have you charged with harassment, you son of a bitch!"

Doug started towards the man, but was stopped by Booker. Booker let loose with a strong right hook that sent Fitzgerald to the ground, unconscious. "If Tom doesn't make it, you'll have to deal with me too." Booker said, as he made sure that Fitzgerald was out.

Both officers were startled when one of the paramedics spoke. "We need to get him to the hospital now." He looked at Doug and asked, "You coming with us?"

Doug nodded and followed them out to the waiting ambulance. He waited as they loaded his injured friend onto the ambulance and then climbed aboard and sat up near Hanson's head. He noticed how pale and lifeless his friend still looked and checked the heart monitor to make sure it was still beating. He leaned in close to Tom's ear and said, "Hanson, please hang on buddy. We need you here with us, do you hear me?" He carefully brushed the bangs out of Hanson's face and kept a close eye on him for the duration of the ride.

Doug was sitting in the waiting room when Booker and Captain Fuller walked in. Doug put his cup of coffee down as they took a seat next to him. Captain Fuller placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

"How's Hanson?" Booker blurted out, not giving their Captain a chance to speak.

Doug rubbed a hand over his face. He still had tears in his eyes that were threatening to escape. "He's been in the operating room for over 2 hours now. I haven't heard anything."

"He's strong Doug. He's going to be fine." Captain Fuller said.

A single tear slipped down Doug's cheek. "I'm not so sure Captain. His heart stopped twice just on the ride over here." Doug buried his face in his hands, not caring who saw the emotions run through him. He couldn't fight back the tears anymore.

Booker stood up and punched the wall behind him. "I'd like to beat the shit out of Fitzgerald after what he's done to Hanson."

Captain Fuller cleared his throat and said, "You're not the only one Dennis." Fuller stood up and was about to say something when a doctor made his way over to the officers.

"Are you guys here with Thomas Hanson?" He asked.

Doug stood up and joined his friends. "How is he doctor? Is he going to be okay?" Doug was way past impatient at this point and just wanted some information on his partner.

The doctor removed his scrub hat and motioned for them to sit down. He rubbed a hand over his tired face and began, "Thomas has some very serious injuries I'm afraid. He's got four broken ribs, two of which punctured his left lung allowing it to fill with blood. He was literally being drowned by his own blood." He put up his hand as the officers before him all gasped. "We were able to drain the blood and he's on a respirator now until his lungs heal and he can breath on his own."

Doug found himself flexing his hands into fists as the anger boiled up inside of him. He could tell however by the look on the doctor's face that there was more wrong with Hanson than just that. "What else?" He asked, afraid of hearing the answer.

"As you are aware, Thomas suffered a severe beating. From the bruising on his body, I'd say that he was kicked as well as punched. He's suffered some internal bleeding that we had to stop by operating on him. His spleen was ruptured and we had to remove it." The doctor stopped long enough to let this information sink in. He was almost afraid to tell them the rest about their fellow officer.

Booker let the information about his partner sink in. _God, it's a wonder that Tom is even alive after the beating he received._ He shook his head and asked, "Is that all?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. His heart stopped once more during the operation and we had to fight to get it beating again. That, along with the time that his heart stopped in the prison has deprived his brain of oxygen." He stopped long enough to notice the look of pain on the officer's faces. "Thomas has slipped into a coma and we're not sure if he's suffered any brain damage."

Doug was fighting to control the tears that threatened to take over. "When will you know?"

"Honestly…" the doctor stated, "We won't know until Thomas wakes up. That is, if he wakes up."

With those words, Doug couldn't take it anymore. He stormed off down the hall and out into the parking lot. The tears were flowing freely now and the anger took over as Doug slammed his fist into the wall. He flinched in pain and sunk down to the ground, burying his head in his hands. _This can't be happening, _he thought._ This can't be real. I'm going to wake up at my desk at the chapel and Tommy will be there, telling me to get my shit together._ Doug wiped the tears out of his eyes as he looked up at the sky. He wasn't one for praying, but figured it wouldn't hurt to start now. _Dear God, please don't take Hanson from us now. I've lost everyone I've ever cared about and I can't bury someone else close to me. I can't lose my best friend._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sorry, I know this chapter is short, but I just needed a bit of filler. I'm working on the next one already and hopefully it will be longer! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews… you guys sure know how to boost a girl's ego!

Chapter 10

It was late in the evening, around 10:00 and Doug found himself sitting in Hanson's room. Fuller and Booker had left when the nurse announced visiting hours were over, but Doug outright refused to leave his partner's side. After a long heated debate, the doctor's made an exception for their rule. Doug would be allowed to stay with his friend. It didn't really make a difference anyway, as the only way that Doug would leave his friend's side was if Fuller were to actually arrest him and drag him out kicking and screaming.

Doug was slouched down in the hard, uncomfortable chair that he had pulled up next to Tom's bedside. He listened intently as the breathing tube down Tom's throat filtered the oxygen into his fragile lungs. He watched the monitors that were beeping along with Hanson's heartbeat…the only proof that he was indeed still alive. Even with the noise of the machines echoing throughout the room, Doug found it too quite in the room. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. _How did things turn out so wrong? _He wondered. Mentally he cursed himself as he thought, _I should have been in there with him. If I hadn't forgot my soap, I would have been in there to protect Tommy. We wouldn't be sitting here, waiting for him to wake up._ Doug knew in his head that he shouldn't feel guilty, but his heart kept telling him otherwise. Looking at the fragile form of his friend lying in that hospital bed kept telling him otherwise. Tom was fighting for his life and Doug could do nothing but feel totally helpless. He sighed once more and took Tom's limp hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and bent down to talk to Tom.

"Hanson, come on man…" he started, "Please, wake up okay?" To his dismay, Doug didn't get any response, not even a twitch. "Come on Tommy. Wake up and yell at me or something. Just come back to us." Still no response. Doug brushed the long bangs out of Hanson's face and sat back in his chair. He felt a lone tear slip down his cheek and quickly brushed it away. "I'm right here Hanson. I'm not going anywhere until you wake up, do you hear me?"

The guilt building up inside him was unbearable. He knew it was Hanson lying there on the bed, but there didn't seem to be any life left in him. His face and arms were covered in bruises. His chest was tightly bandaged to protect his broken ribs, but Doug could see the bruises peeking out from the bandages as well. He squeezed Tom's hand once more, not knowing what else to do. He had heard that coma patients could hear what was going on around them and that talking to them could help bring them out of it, so Doug was intent on doing just that.

Doug laid his head down on the bed next to Hanson's hand. "I am so sorry Tom. I should have been there with you." The tears were starting to flow freely now as he said, "Please, forgive me and come back to us."

Still no response came and all Doug could do was pray that Tom heard him. He didn't care how long it would take, but Doug wasn't going to leave that room until Tom Hanson was back to his old self. He'd make sure of that. _I'll never let anything happen to you again, Hanson._ That was a promise that Doug Penhall would keep until the day he died.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Three long weeks had passed and Tom Hanson finally had his breathing tube removed. His lungs had healed and he was able to breathe on his own. Although he was still in a coma, he felt as though he were in a dream-filled sleep that didn't seem to end. He had tried, even fought, many times to wake up out of this stupor but found it too difficult. He tried especially hard when his best friend, Doug Penhall was sitting by his side, begging and pleading with him to open his eyes. He could hear the fear in his friend's voice, although for some reason he couldn't quite place why. All he knew is that he couldn't take the sadness and guilt in Doug's voice and he tried like hell to break out of this never-ending sleep that plagued him.

Doug's voice wasn't the only one that Tom heard in his deep sleep either. He had heard Fuller, Ioki, Booker and Judy as well. He tried as hard as he could to call out to Judy when he heard her crying and pleading with him to wake up. He found that he couldn't however and found himself forced to listen to her heartbreaking sobs.

_What the hell is going on? He wondered. Where am I and why are all of the people that I care about so sad and scared about me?_ Tom tried to think, tried to come up with an answer to his questions, but was met with nothing but a huge blank. So, he continued fighting to wake up from his slumber. He fought with all he had to get back to the people he loved.

Doug had fallen asleep at some point in that uncomfortable hard chair. He was having a nightmare about Tom.

"_I'm sorry Officer Penhall. There was nothing that we could do, but Tom passed away this morning. His body just couldn't take the beating that he had to endure. If only someone had been there to protect him, to help him out, maybe he would have pulled through…"._

_Doug found himself screaming at the doctor before him. "No, no this can't be happening! Tom! I'm so sorry Tom… I should have been there to protect you!" Doug fought to get past the doctor only to be held back by two very strong hands. "Tom!" he yelled as he looked into the doorway of Tom's room where a nurse was pulling a sheet over the still form of his best friend. "TOM!!"_

With that, Doug woke up, scared to death. His dream had felt so real that he shut his eyes tightly, trying to get that image out of his mind. He shook his head and opened his eyes once more. He saw his friend, still lying in the bed in front of him. Tom's eyes were open and he was looking towards Doug. Doug glanced away and then when he realized that Tom's eyes were open, he jumped up from his chair, knocking it over.

"Holy shit… Tommy, you're awake. Can you hear me? Say something man." Doug was so excited to see those brown eyes staring back at him that his words came out in a hurried rush. "Tom? Come on say something." Doug quickly found the call button next to Tom's bed and pushed it.

The doctor and a nurse came into the room seconds later. "What is it? What's wrong with Mr. Hanson?" They asked as they gently pushed Doug out of the way. The doctor took out a small light and shined it into Hanson's eyes.

"I need you to leave for a moment so we can do an examine." The nurse said as she began pulling Doug towards the door.

Doug pulled his arm back and said, "No… I'm not going anywhere. He's my friend and I need to be here for him."

The nurse gently put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. We'll take good care of him and as soon as the exam is over, you can come back in."

Doug hesitated and then took another look at Tom before heading to the door. "Okay, I guess. But I want to come back in with him when you're done."

The nurse smiled and nodded. "I'll let you know when we're done."

Doug was outside Hanson's room for about twenty minutes when the door opened and the doctor came out.

"Can I see him now? Is he still awake so I can talk to him?" Doug asked impatiently.

The doctor frowned and said, "I'm afraid Thomas is still in a coma."

Doug shook his head and said, "No.. He can't be. He opened his eyes. He was looking right at me."

"Coma patients open their eyes sometimes. Sometimes for a few minutes or they can keep them open the entire time that they're in a coma." The doctor put a hand on Doug's shoulder sympathetically. "I'm afraid there's still no response from your friend."

Doug let his head fall slightly to his chest. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Is he ever going to come out of it?" He asked, but was afraid to actually hear an answer.

The doctor shrugged and answered, "I can't tell you a definite answer. But his CAT scans show that he still has brain activity and now that he has opened his eyes, I am hopeful that he is going to come out of this. All we can do is wait. Keep talking to him and maybe that will help him find his way back." The doctor patted Doug's shoulder once more and turned to leave.

Doug quickly opened the door and walked back into Tom's room. He made his way over to Tom's bed and found his partner lying there, his eyes still opened and focused on something straight ahead. Doug picked up Tom's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Okay Hanson… you listen to me. I want you to fight this. Do you hear me? Fight this and come back to us." He bent down and whispered in his ear, "Otherwise I'll have to kick your ass." With that, Doug sat back down in his chair and kept a close watch over Tom for the rest of the night.

Tom kept fighting to open his eyes. He couldn't understand why he was so tired and why his eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. He could hear Penhall's snoring and wanted nothing more than to tell him to shut up. But first he had to figure out a way to open his eyes. Just when he was about to give up, he felt his eyelids begin to flutter. He kept fighting until he was finally able to open them all the way. He quickly shut them as the blinding light caught him by surprise. _Okay Hanson, let's try this again. Open them slowly this time, a little bit at a time._ He was able to do just that and fought to bring his vision into focus. Once he was able to see clearly, he saw his best friend sitting in a chair beside his bed._ Why the hell is Penhall in my room? Did we get drunk last night and he stayed over? I'll just have to wake him up and ask him._

Before Tom could utter a sound, Doug screamed and jumped up from his chair. He was staring at Tom as if it were the first time he'd seen him in a long time. Tom tried to open his mouth to ask Doug what was going on, but found that he couldn't. In fact, Tom wasn't able to move any part of his body. He began to panic and desperately fought to find his voice, to call out to Doug for help. His head was beginning to throb as he fought to call out to his partner. He began to feel very sleepy and was also fighting to keep his eyes open. Finally he found he couldn't fight it anymore and gave into the temptation of sleep. _I'll just have to talk to Penhall later and find out what the hell is going on._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Another week had passed since Tom had opened his eyes and Doug was slowly beginning to lose hope. He wasn't giving up on his friend, but with no response from Tom, he was starting to believe that Hanson wasn't going to come back to them. Doug was sitting in his usual spot beside Tom when the door opened and Booker walked in.

"Any change?" Booker asked as he walked over and sat down on the opposite side of Tom's bed.

Doug shook his head and sighed. "Nope, nothing." Doug looked up at Booker and asked, "So, when does Fitzgerald go to trial?"

"Next month. They're holding him with no bail until then." Booker replied.

Doug clenched his fists and muttered, "I hope he rots in prison for what he's done to Hanson."

Booker looked at Doug sympathetically. "Don't worry Doug, he'll get what's coming to him." He thought for a moment before adding, "Fuller wants us to testify against him…"

Doug thought about this and a small smile crossed his lips. "Good, I'll make sure that bastard rots in prison for the rest of his life."

Doug and Booker continued talking about the case against Fitzgerald without noticing the slight movements that were coming from the injured officer lying on the bed beside them.

Tom could hear the voices surrounding him and tried to place them. They seemed familiar, but for some reason his brain wasn't clear and everything seemed foggy. Tom tried to push the fog aside and focus his attention on the voices he heard. Suddenly it clicked…Doug and Booker.

Tom felt a strong urge to open his eyes and make his presence known to his friends. He began fighting the darkness that was plaguing him. He tried to move, to move anything on his body that would cooperate. He could feel his fingers starting to become less stiff and found that he could flex them slightly. Next he tried opening his eyes and could feel them begin to flutter. Come on Tom, you can do it. Open your damn eyes already!

Doug was listening to Booker relay the information about the upcoming trial when he thought he saw the slightest movement out of his partner that way lying in the bed beside him. Doug shook his head, _God, now I'm seeing things. I must be losing it._ Doug rubbed a hand over his eyes and then looked over at the bed once again. He saw the slightest twitch out of Hanson's fingers and his eyelids were starting to flutter. Doug heard the heart monitor start to beep a little faster also. Quickly he stood up and made his way beside Tom. He took Tom's hand and felt his partner's fingers squeeze back just slightly.

Doug leaned forward and said, "Tom, can you hear me?"

Booker stood up and looked at Doug, puzzled. "Doug, what are you doing?"

Penhall watched as Tom's eyes began to flutter a bit faster and once again Hanson squeezed his hand, a bit harder this time. "That's it Tommy, wake up." He watched as the pattern on the heart monitor flashed faster on the screen. "Dennis, go get the doctor! Now!"

Booker hurried out the door to find the doctor. He was worried about Tom. He wasn't sure if what he just witnessed was a good sign or not.

Doug held onto Tom's hand and tried to coax him out of the coma. "Hanson, can you hear me? That's it, listen to my voice. Open your eyes and come back to us. Come on, that's it." He watched as Tom's eyes slowly opened. Doug tried to keep calm as those chocolate brown eyes focused in on his. It took a moment, but Doug thought that he saw a hint of recognition in those eyes. "Hey Tommy, I'm right here."

Doug watched as Tom's face reflected fear and the heart monitor began beeping faster. "Hey, calm down Hanson. It's okay, you're in the hospital and I'm right here. Shh, calm down buddy."

Once Tom opened his eyes, his vision was quite blurry. He blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the fog. Finally he was able to focus and the face of Douglas Penhall came into focus. Tom looked around and saw that he wasn't in his room of his apartment. He began to panic, as he didn't recognize where he was or how he got there. He was disoriented and couldn't get his mind to focus on anything except for that fear. He could feel his heart begin to race. He could hear Doug telling him to calm down, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his heart to stop racing. All he could do was grip Doug's hand tighter and hang on for dear life.

Booker followed the doctor into Tom's room and was surprised at the sight before him. Hanson's eyes were open and Doug was trying to calm him down. Hanson looked terrified, but he wasn't saying a word. He watched as the doctor walked up to Tom and pulled out his small flashlight to check Tom's eyes.

"Hello Thomas, welcome back." He noticed the rapid heart rate of his patient and spoke in a calm voice. "Thomas, you're in the hospital. You've been in a coma for about a month now."

Tom was starting to breath heavily now, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. He looked from Doug and to the doctor, before squeezing Doug's hand once again. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but found that no words would come out. He looked up at Doug with pleading eyes. He couldn't understand what was going on.

"Thomas, I'm just going to do a checkup, okay? Do you understand?" The doctor asked and received a nod from his patient. He then turned to Doug and Booker, "I'll need you guys to leave the room while I check Thomas out."

Doug nodded and went to leave but Tom gripped his hand. "Hey buddy. It's okay, I'll just be right outside the door, okay?" He patted Tom's hand as he nodded. "We'll be right back." He and Booker then left the room and waited for the doctor to do the exam.

A half hour later the doctor emerged from Hanson's room. Doug and Booker stood up and made their way over to the room.

"How is he doctor?" Doug asked. "He's going to be alright now, right?"

The doctor nodded. "I think Thomas is going to be just fine. He's a little disoriented right now, but that's perfectly normal for someone who's just woken up from a coma." He looked at his charts and added, "Um, we'll have to wait and see if there's been any brain damage…only time will tell. He'll be going through quite a few tests in the next couple of days, but right now I just want him to rest. He's basically in shock right now and his body needs to readjust to being out of the coma."

Doug took all of this in, but was just relieved that Hanson was awake. They could deal with the other stuff if and when it happened. "Can we see him now?"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah, just realize that it will take him some time to readjust. Just be supportive and be there for him."

Doug opened the door and walked into the room. Booker followed him in and they sat down beside Hanson's bed. His eyes were closed but they slowly opened when he heard them enter the room.

"Hey Hanson, welcome back man." Booker said. "How are you feeling?"

Tom tried to clear his throat. He opened his mouth and was surprised at how weak his voice sounded. "I-I'm tired." He was able to get out.

"It's good to have you back Hanson." Doug said. "We've missed you around here."

Tom was able to let a small smile cross his lips before saying, "It's good…to be…back." He found it was difficult to speak because his throat felt so dry. "Water…"

Booker stood up and poured a glass of water and handed it to Tom. "Here you go." He waited for Tom to take a drink and then said, "Well, I've got to get back to the chapel…some of us have to work you know. We can't all take a break and lay around all day." He said with a smirk.

Tom shifted in his bed and smiled again. "You're just… jealous Booker." He said, finding that it was a bit easier to speak. He waved goodbye to Booker as he walked out the door.

"I'll see you later Tom." Booker said as he left. "Good to have you back."

Tom handed Doug his cup and then leaned back into the pillows on his bed. He shut his eyes for a moment, as he suddenly felt extremely tired.

"You okay Tom? Do you want me to get the doctor?" Doug asked, worried.

Tom shook his head. "No, I'm just tired, that's all."

Doug looked at Tom skeptically. "You sure?" Tom nodded and opened his eyes.

"I'm fine Doug. Just a little tired."

Doug stood up and said, "How about if I let you get some rest then, okay?" Then he added, "Although you've been sleeping for a month, so I don't know how you can possibly be tired still!" He smiled as Tom rolled his eyes.

"Could you stay for a while? This place just creeps me out." Tom said. "I hate hospitals."

Doug smiled, happy to have his friend back. "Sure. You get some rest and I'll be here when you wake up, ok?"

Tom was already sound asleep before he could answer Doug's question, so Doug pulled his chair up beside the bed and leaned back in it. _It's good to have you back Tom._ He thought and closed his eyes to get some sleep himself.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It had been another week since Tom had woken up from his coma. After many tests, the doctor had cleared him for discharge from the hospital. He was in the room putting his shoes on when Doug walked in the door.

"Hey Hanson, you ready to go home?" Doug asked as he watched Tom trying to lean over to tie his shoes. "Do you need some help there?" He asked with a small laugh.

Tom looked up and gave him a glare. "Funny Doug, real funny." He managed to get his other shoe tied and stood up. He must have stood up too quickly because he swayed a bit and put his hand out to the wall to steady himself.

Doug moved over and put a hand out to his partner. "You sure you're okay to go home already?" He asked, worried.

The dizziness passed and Tom brushed Doug's hand away. "I'm fine. I can't wait to get out of this place."

Doug eyed him, making sure he wasn't dizzy anymore before handing Tom his jacket. "If you say so…"

Tom walked over to the door and said, "Yeah, I say so. Now are you going to drive me home or what?"

Doug shook his head and followed Tom out the door. "Yeah, Tom Hanson is definitely back." He muttered, only to get a smirk out of Tom. "We sure missed you."

Tom stopped at the nurse's station to fill out his discharge papers. After signing them, a red headed nurse brought around a wheelchair and motioned for the officer to sit down.

"Your chariot awaits Tommy." The red head said.

Tom looked at the wheelchair and then at the nurse. "Uh, no thanks. I can walk just fine thank you."

The nurse put a hand on his arm and replied, "Sorry Tommy, hospital policy."

"But…" Tom started but was cut off by Doug.

"Come on Hanson, you've only been out of the coma for a week, so I think the wheelchair might be a good idea. Besides, you were a little dizzy back there in your room." Doug said, only to receive a deadly look from Tom.

Tom sighed and sat down in the wheelchair. "Fine, have it your way. Let's go, because I can't wait to get out of this place!" With that, Doug wheeled his friend downstairs and to the entrance of the hospital where Tom practically jumped out of the wheelchair, making his way to the blue Mustang parked at the front. He got into the passenger side as Doug took the driver's side. Doug threw the car into gear and left the parking lot, pulling out onto the road.

Tom took his eyes off the passing road long enough to ask Doug a question. "So, when does the trial start?"

Doug was caught off guard by Tom's question. They had spoken briefly about Fitzgerald being arrested, but Doug had left out the part about the trial and the fact they were all going to have to testify against him. "Um, in 2 weeks. Do you think you'll be up for it?" He asked.

Tom sighed and said, "Yeah, I'm ready to make sure Fitzgerald gets what he deserves… not just for me, but the drug dealing as well."

Doug could see that Tom was a bit hesitant at the thought of having to go to trial, but he knew nothing would stop him either from testifying. Doug had been thinking of something else he needed to talk to Tom about and decided that now was as good a time as any. He quickly cleared his throat before speaking.

"Hey Tommy, I uh…well, I need to apologize to you." Doug was having trouble finding the right words.

Tom looked over at him, confused. "What do you mean? Why do you need to apologize to me?"

Doug looked back at the road, trying to think of the right thing to say. "For not being there when… when Fitzgerald and those guys had you locked in the shower room. If I hadn't forgotten something, I would have been in there with you. I could have stopped them."

Tom shook his head, not believing that Penhall was blaming himself. "Doug, it's not your fault. There were 7 of them. Even if you were there, we would still have been outnumbered. You could've ended up in the hospital with me."

Doug continued staring out the front window. "I know, but I maybe could've protected you. I felt so guilty about not being there and you almost dying." Doug thought for a moment before adding, "I didn't think you were going to make it."

Tom could see the pain in Doug's face and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm still here… and I'm fine. We'll make sure that Fitzgerald and those other guys pay for what they did, okay?"

Doug looked over at Tom and said, "Yeah. I'm just really glad that you're back."

"I'm glad to be back too." Tom said as he looked at Doug and smirked.

"Heh!" They said, as if they could read each other's minds. "Nothing can stop the McQuaids!" Tom said with a smile. "Nothing."

The End

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Thanks to everyone who left such wonderful reviews. A special thanks to Dizzles, as she suggested that I write a sequel. I'll be working on that soon, along with some other stories as well. Thanks again for all the support!


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